| The Late Great Johnny Ace and the Transition from R&B to Rock 'n' Roll Contributor(s): Salem, James M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0252069692 ISBN-13: 9780252069697 Publisher: University of Illinois Press OUR PRICE: $27.72 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2001 Annotation: Johnny Ace's career lasted barely eighteen months, yet musicians from Bob Dylan to Paul Simon have acknowledged their debt to him. This is the first comprehensive treatment of an enigmatic performer whose biggest hit, "Pledging My Love", would top the R&B charts and cross over to pop after he died playing Russian roulette in his dressing room between sets at a packed "Negro Christmas dance" in Houston. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Music - Biography & Autobiography | Cultural, Ethnic & Regional - General - Music | History & Criticism - General |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 98025477 |
| Series: Music in American Life (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.94" H x 5.99" W x 8.99" (1.16 lbs) 320 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Johnny Ace's crooning style and stirring ballads made him the first postwar African American artist to cross over to a white audience. After a string of R&B hits, Ace released the million-selling "Pledging My Love," a song headed to the top of the charts when the singer accidentally shot himself in his dressing room between sets at a show. James M. Salem captures the enigmatic, captivating, and influential R&B legend. Venturing from raucous Beale Street to Houston's vibrant Fourth Ward, Salem places Johnny Ace within a multifaceted world of postwar rhythm and blues that included B. B. King, Johnny Otis, Big Mama Thornton, and Gatemouth Brown. Salem also examines how entrepreneur Don D. Robey and his wife Evelyn Johnson promoted Ace to the top of the charts. Yet fame, as always, had a price. Ace's tours on the Chitlin' Circuit meant endless one-night stands and a grueling schedule that kept him on the road 340 days per year. Comprehensive and filled with anecdotes, The Late Great Johnny Ace and the Transition from R&B to Rock 'n' Roll tells the story of the star who fused black and white styles and changed American popular music forever. |